THE QtaNCY VALLZ-s
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FORUM
&apos;,1 THURSDAY, June 19, 2014 " "" "-'00os00-Keg-/s00er
Jill FitzSimmons
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New law allows homeowners to avoid probate
Rani K. Sampson
GUEST COLUMNIST
"qr
BY RANI SAMPSON
Overcast Law Offices
As of last week, there's a new
way to avoid probate: the transfer
on death deed•
Washington's new law allows
real property to pass from the
person who died directly to a new
owner without going through the
court's probate process• Now,
with a transfer on death (TOD)
deed, real estate can pass outside
of probate as other assets do, such
as insurance proceeds, money in
pay-on-death bank accounts, and
pension plan benefits.
Here's how it works: A prop-
erty-owner signs an ordinary deed
that contains a special instruction
that the property does not trans-
fer until the property-owner dies.
The transfer-on-death deed must
be recorded with the county be-
fore the property-owner dies. The
property-owner does not have to
tell anyone that he or she record-
ed a TOD deed, but the TOD deed
will be a public record. The trans-
fer is not subject to real estate ex-
cise tax.
The beneficiary of the deed (the
person who gets the property) can
claim the property as soon as the
property-owner's death certificate
is recorded. The beneficiary will
own the property but will also be
responsible for all of the proper-
ty's liabilities such as leases, liens
and mortgages. A beneficiary
who does not want property that
is transferred by a TOD deed may
"disclaim" the girl of property by
recording a "disclaimer" in the
county's records.
A TOD deed does not affect
the property-owner's enjoyment
of his or her property. The own-
er can use the property as he or
she always has. The owner can
refinance the property, rent it,
short-plat it, or simply-live in the
property. Nothing has changed
- except the owner has made it
clear who will get the property
when he or she dies.
A TOD deed is different from
a life-estate, where the owner has
transferred the property (usually
to the kids) but continues to live
in the house. With a life-estate,
the old owner has given away
most of his or her rights to the
property, except the right to live
in the home.
Unlike a life-estate, a TOD
deed is revocable - the proper-
ty-owner can change his or her
mind - as long as the owner still
has the mental capacity to sign
a deed or a will. If the proper-
ty-owner sells or transfers the
property, the TOD deed is voided.
Or, the property-owner can re-
voke the TOD deed by recording
a new TOD deed or by creating
a will that gives the property to
someone else.
At first, the TOD deed sounds
like a great alternative to pro-
bate: you might not need a will, it
doesn't affect anyone's eligibility
for public assistance, and you can
change your mind and cancel the
TOD deed.
But, TOD deeds have disad-
vantages, especially in the case
where the property-owner re-
ceives public benefits. For exam-
pie, DSHS may place a lien on a
"transfer on death" property any
time within two years of a per-
son's death if that person received
certain benefits. However, DSHS
would only have four months to
place a lien if the property went
through probate.
TOD deeds are not ideal for
transferring property to a group
of people• For example, a widow
records a TOD deed that gives
her property to her three sons and
daughter, but the daughter dies be-
fore the Widow does. If the widow
doesn't record a new TOD deed,
her daughter's children might not
receive a Share of the property. In
a probate proceeding, though, her
daughter's children could get a
one-fourth share of the property.
This new tool; the transfer on
death deed, should be used with
care. It is intended to help people
avoid probate (and lawyers). But,
a TOD deed could cause all sorts
of unintended difficulties, so it
would be wise to talk to a lawyer
before making one.
Rani Sampson is an attor-
ney with Overcast Law Offices
in Wenatchee and Quincy. Her
practice focuses on estate plan-
ning, real estate and business.
Washington is the 14 th state in the
country to adopt this new law, the
transfer on death deed.
of opinions. Submissions
with contact information for
the writer should be sent to
editor@qvpr.com.
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People of the Wanapmn Reservnir want answers, access to the river
BY TOM PARK
Editor's Note. This letter was submitted to
the Grant PUD Board of Commissioners last
week. Commissioners will discuss the letter at
their June 24 meeting.
The people between Rock Island and Wana-
pum Dam have been patient, and now we want
answers•
We were told the shoreline would open back
up in July or August• Now the Grant County
PUD is conveying it "might" be the end of 2014.
Our businesses and quality of life are suffering,
and now we want answers.
News reports indicate the Columbia River
shoreline is closed due to protection of natural
artifacts and unstable conditions of the river
bank There are already federal laws in place
to protect picking .up artifacts and taking them
home. These laws were passed in 1906, 1966,
1979, and 1992 forbid the taking of Native
American artifacts from any and all federal
land. These laws are in effect regardless of the
water levels• Over the past several years, states
have also passed their own laws restricting the
taking of Native American artifacts from state
lands•
There are also laws concerning the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act (NAGPRA) which is a Federal law passed
in 1990. NAGPRA requires federal agencies to
complete'inventories and summaries of Native
American cultural items in their collections,
publish notices in the Federal Register, and
repatriate Native American human remains,
funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of
cultural patrimony to lineal descendants and
culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Ha-
waiian organizations.
Under NAGPRA, Federal agencies are re-
quired to consult government-to-government
with Native American tribes in carrying out
NAGPRA, and federal agencies also have spe-
cial NAGPRA responsibilities when Native
American human remains and items are discov-
ered on Federal and tribal lands.
The law does not state that you need to close
public access to an entire shoreline.
We understand access should be restricted or
denied if the shoreline is considered "unsafe."
Several months ago the shoreline was closed
due to trustable river banks and wet sand. The
wet sand is now dry but we still do not have ac-
cess to the river.
However, lowering water levels along the
Columbia River is something that fluctuates
each year. Lake Roosevelt is over 150 miles
long, provides over 630 miles of shoreline and
stores up to 9.4 million acre feet of water behind
Grand Coulee Dam. Full pool at Lake Roos-
evelt is 1,290 feet. This is the elevation of the
surface of the water above sea level.
The elevation level of the lake can fluctuate
as much as 80 feet over the course of a year. But
they do not consider the shoreline to be hazard-
ous and prevent public access.
We must ask the questions that are important
to the people who live or visit the shores of the
Columbia River:
Ensuring public safety. Safety issues were a
concern when the river level was lowered• The
shoreline has been exposed for over three
months with little rain. How is the PUD mea-
suring safety? Access is restricted due to Haz-
ardous Conditions How do they define hazard-
ous and how do we know what is considered
safe. The wet sand that was once unsafe is now
dry.
Protecting cultural resources• Is this re-
ally necessary to protect and monitor seven
days a week when there are already laws in
place? Why are we spending hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars in additional protection when
the law is already in place?
News articles indicate theerack in the Wana-
pum Dam was discovered Feb. 27. Public re-
cords indicate there was concrete and rebar fa-
tigue back in 2006/2007• What safety measures
were put in place to monitor these fatigues?
Are the officials provoking these tactics as re-
venge method due to the Crescent Bar law suit?
Dredging in Vantage and Frenchman Cou-
lee already started. Why is the worke being de-
laed in Crescent Bar? Is this due to the Grant
PUD not putting Crescent Bar Inc. on the in-
demnity clause? Prolonging the dredging work
at Crescent Bar after the water is raised could
cause another water access closure and hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars to be lost.
Are the officials discriminating against all
others by not letting them access the river? The
Native Americans are accessing the river on a
daily basis.
Are we wasting Grant PUD money by buying
new boats and jet skis for public safety and pro-
tecting cultural resources?
What is being addressed about the Northwest
minnow program? The program was put in
place to protect our salmon as they feed almost
exclusively on salmon smelts• Are we putting
our salmon in danger by not allowing fishing on
the river?
In the lease agreement to CBI, it indicates
the rent shall be abated on a pro-rate basis for
the period of time the ordinary conduct of busi-
ness by lessee is prevented• This is due to over-
flow. What about underflow?
What is being done about the businesses that
are unable to survive? The local businesses rely
on water sports and activities to draw customers
from across the nation. Several businesses are
unable to provide services and others are strug-
gling to survive.
We need answers. I encourage every business
to write to the PUD at commissioners@grant-
pud.org.
Tom Park is the owner of Crescent Bar Vaca-
tion Rentals.